Law Dictionary
To search for a particular term please use the following search box.
Click on a category to see available terms for that category.
- Banking Law
- Canon Law
- Civil Law
- Civil Rights
- Commercial Law
- Common Law
- Consumer Law
- Contract Law
- Contracts
- Corporate Law
- Courts
- Criminal Law
- Employment Law
- English Law
- Family Law
- Feudal Law
- French Law
- General Practice
- Government
- Health Law
- Immigration Law
- Insurance Law
- Intellectual Property Law
- International Law
- Investment Law
- Latin Terms
- Maritime Law
- Military Law
- Monarchy
- Obsolete
- Real Estate Law
- Roman Law
- Scottish Law
- Spanish Law
- Tax Law
- Torts
- Transportation Law
- Trusts and Estates
- Water Law
abatement of legacies
is the reduction of legacies for the purpose of paying the testator's debts.
2. When the estate is short of paying the debts and legacies, and there are general legacies and specific legacies, the rule is that the general legatees must abate proportionably in order to pay the debts; a specific legacy is not abated unless the general legacies cannot pay all the debts; in that case what remains to be paid must be paid by the specific legatees, who must, where there are several, abate their legacies, proportionably. 2 Bl. Com. 513; 2 Vessen. 561 to 564; 1 P. Wms. 680; 2 P. Wms. 283. See 2 Bro. C. C. 19; Bac. Abr. Legacies, H; Rop. on Leg. 253, 284.
Source : Bouvier 1856
Language : English